The use of a long gun or rifle for shooting at long distances is usually helped by the use of a rifle support. A spotting scope is commonly used to verify targets and to provide feedback to the shooter for making adjustments to the aim. Rifle supports such as shooting rests, mono pods, tripods and bi-pods are known for use with rifles and other light arms for supporting a portion of the weight of the rifle and reducing unwanted movement. Resting the rifle on a support surface helps the shooter to improve aiming and reduce fatigue. The support is also used to support other aimed devices, such as spotting scopes and cameras.
Many prior art supports for rifles include relatively complicated mechanical pivot and adjustment mechanisms and are heavy and expensive to manufacture. A spotting scope used with the rifle while shooting should be disposed nearby and supported to view the target area. The use of a spotting scope requires a separate support, typically a tripod or other self standing support so the spotting scope can stand alone during the shot and be quickly and easily available to the shooter after each shot. In a moving target shooting situation, the spotting scope must be redirected after each shot to provide feedback to the shooter. The spacing between the rifle and the spotting spotting scope may change as the shooting progresses and the rifle is re-aimed at the moving target. In addition, the shooter must leave the sight line aiming the gun at the target to use the spotting scope.
It is desired to provide an integrated rifle and spotting scope mount comprising a support system having a spotting scope held in spaced relation to a rifle. The tripod system must operates smoothly even with the heaviest and most expensive gear setup having separate locking and friction adjustment on each of the pan and tilt hubs. The support and integrated pan and tilt mechanisms should allow all day shooting or watching with a super heavy rifle and spotting scope with little effort to prevent user exhaustion. It is desirable that the tripod system is adapted to support the integrated rifle and spotting mount at a variety of heights to support shooting from standing, kneeling, sitting, and prone positions.
The tripod system should provides ultra-smooth movement and stable support for even the longest shots while supporting up to 50 lbs of equipment. A quick release rifle attachment such as a Picatinny cradle attachment releasably holds a rifle to the integrated rifle and spotting mount. The integrated rifle and spotting scope mount may be adapted to move the rifle and spotting scope together. The spotting scope adjustable to an orientation aligned with the rifle shot line. The integrated rifle support system may be supported by a fixed support such as a tripod or shooting fixture. The integrated rifle support system may be integrated onto common camera support devices such as a tripod having a gimbal or other movable support for moving the integrated rifle support system on vertical, horizontal and rotational axes.